THE Metro Manila Council (MMC) has recommended to the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to temporarily close cemeteries in the National Capital Region for at least one week during the observance of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Jojo Garcia said in a virtual press briefing on Monday that all mayors of Metro Manila unanimously agreed to close all private and public cemeteries in their respective areas of jurisdiction to prevent mass gathering to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Initially, the MMC proposed to the IATF to close private and public cemeteries all over the metropolis from October 28 to November 4.
“We will let the IATF to decide on their preferred date of closure of cemeteries during the All Saints Day holidays,” Garcia said.
Garcia stressed the decision to close cemeteries is to avoid the influx of people visiting their departed loved ones as well as to avert COVID-19 transmission since mass gatherings are prohibited in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ).
The MMC, comprised of the mayors of the 16 cities and one municipality, is the governing and policy-making body of the MMDA.
